Railway-crossing gate.



No. 733,419. PATENTED JULY-14, 1903.

N. PERRAULT.

RAILWAY CROSSING GATE.

APPLICATION FILED I Y 23. 1902. I '80 MODEL. UL I 3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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Attorneys No. 733,419. PATENTED JULY 14, 1903.

N. PERRAULT. v RAILWAY onossme GATE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 23, 1902. N0 MODEL. 3 BHEETS8HEET 3.

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Inventor Attorneys Witnesses UNITED STATES Patented July 14, 1903.

: P TENT OFFICE.

NORBERT PERRAULT, OF OTTAWA, CANADA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO AMABLE SIMONEAU,OF OTTAWVA, CANADA.

RAI LWAY-CROSSING GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 733,412 dated July 14, 1903.

. Application filed July 23, 1902. Serial No. 116,634. (No model.)

T at whom it nuty concern.-

Be it known that I, NORBERT PERRAULT, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Ottawa, county of Carleton, Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway-Cross ing Gates; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a railway-crossing gate forgrade-crossings between railways and highways, and, further, a gate of that type which is adapted to be automatically operated by an approaching train to close the gate and to open the same after leaving the crossing, the said automatic operation being by means of a mechanical connection.

It is my objectin this invention to produce a crossing-gate which shall infallibly be operated by the train so as to be opened or closed, which shall dispense with pneumatic, electrical, and other indirect means for closing and opening the gates, which are liable to frequent derangement and thus to fail at critical times, and to cause the power of the train to act directly upon the gate without the interposition of any other power to open and close the same.

My invention further consists in the special arrangement of gearing by which the gates are connected together so as to be raised and lowered simultaneously in opposite directions, and by this arrangement I am enabled to use four individual gates on each side of the crossing, all of which are simply connected by underground means and without belts, chains, or pulleys.

My invention consists, furthermore, in the constructions and combinations of parts hereinafter described, and more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings accompanying this specification, I have illustrated my invention as applied to a single-track railroad and also to a double-track railroad, together with the specific and most approved design of the details by which the parts coact with one another, and herein Figure 1 is a plan view of a highway-crossing on a single-track road, provided with gates according to my invention. Fig. 2 is an elevation or profile taken at one side of the railroad at the crossing, showing the mechanism of the gates and also of the sign both above and below ground. Fig. 3 is a detail view, on an enlarged scale, partly in section and partly in elevation, of the mechanism of the gate, taken on a plane at right angles to the railroad. Fig. 4 is a front elevation of the hub portion of one of the pivoted gates. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of a portion of the gate mechanism, taken on the line 5 5 of Fig. 3. Fig. 6 is a section of 6 the gate mechanism, taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 3. Fig. '7 is a plan view of a highwaycrossing provided with my invention on a double-track railroad.

The same numerals of reference denote like parts in all the figures of the drawings.

Referring first to the form shown in Fig. l, the railway-track is designated by the numeral 11 and the highway by the numeral 12. This highway is barred on each side by four pivotally-mounted gates 13, each of which is of the form shown in Figs. 2 and 4, comprising a gate-bar 14 and an enlarged circular hub 15, having a bevelgear segment 16 thereon, the gates being pivoted in pairs upon a series of horizontal shafts 17, which are sup ported on upright posts 18, having journalbearings 19 at their upper ends. It is to be understood that each pair of gates 13 is loosely mounted on its shaft 17, so that the individual gates may turn simultaneously in opposite directions, so that both are lowered across the highway simultaneously at opposite sides a of the shaft, one closing in general a portion of the carriage-drive or roadway and the other 0 the sidewalk. These gates are caused to be raised and lowered by means of a set of four horizontallyemounted bevel-gears 20, whose diameter is equal to that of the distance between the gear-segments 16-, so as to gear with each of these. Each of the gears 20 is keyed to a vertical shaft 21 and rests on a thrustbearing 22, formed in a transverse bar 23, extending between and secured to the two upright posts 18. As shown, the lower end of the shaft 21 passes through an opening 24 in a boxing or casing 25, placed beneath the LII ground, and is journaled in a bearing-piece 26, and below the bearing-piece 26 the shaft 21 has keyed thereto a second bevel-gear 27. The two bevel-gears 27 belonging to the set of gates on one side of the track are connected by means of a shaft 28, extending between the two boxes 25 and having on each end thereof a bevel-gear 29, meshing with the respective bevel-gear 27, and the set of gates on the other side of the crossing is provided with a like arrangement, so that by this means each of the two sets of gates on the respective sides of the crossing have their parts interconnected together, so as to move simultaneously. In addition the two sets are themselves connected together by an operatingshaft 30, which extends across the railroad beneath the track thereof, and has each end thereof projecting into one of the boxes 25, and a pair of bevel-gears 31 on its two ends, which intermesh with the bevel-gears 29 on the adjacent ends of the two shafts 28. It will be understood, of course, that the relative sizes of the three gears 27, 29, and 31 in any one box 25 is such that the two gears 27 and 31 do not intermesh nor interfere with one another. making the gear 31, for instance, slightly smaller than the gear 29. The gears 29 being merely idle gears, it is of no consequence what size these are made, provided the relative sizes of the gears 27 and 31 be maintained.

Mounted intermediately upon the operating-shaft 39-that is to say, at a pointdirectly beneath one of the rails 32 33 (the rail being designated in the present instance)--are a pair of ratchet-wheels 34 35, each keyed to the shaft 30, as by a pair of keys 36. These ratchet-wheels have their teeth directed in opposite directions as seen from the same sidethat is to say, for-instance, the wheel 34, as shown in Fig. 6, has its teeth directed in a counter-clockwise direction and the wheel 35 in a clockwise direction. Cotiperating with these ratchet-wheels are, further, a pair of ratchet or pawl levers 37 38, which, as shown, have enlarged hubs loosely mounted on the shaft 30 and are separated from one another by a short interval by any suitable means as, for instance, a hub-boss 39, formed on the lever 37so that their faces are held close against the respective wheels 34 and 35. Each pawl-lever carries a pawl 40, which pawls face, as will be of course understood, in opposite directions to the teeth of the respective ratchet-wheels, so as to coact therewith in turning said wheels when the levers are rotated in the directions of the pawls, each pawl 40 being pivotally mounted upon a pin 41, so as to enable it to fall into engagement with the ratchet-teeth when the lever is moved in a forward direction, which engagement is assisted,preferably, by a leaf-spring 42,pressing on the upper side of the pawl. The levers, as shown, are arranged so that normally they slant backwardly through a certain angle behind the vertical, thus making with each This may be accomplished by other when not in operation anangle of some thirty to sixty degrees. With each of the pawls 40 further cooperates a projecting finger 43, which is secured, as at 44, to the wall of the casing 45, in which the levers are mounted, and the finger 43 projects such a distance thatin its most rearward motion the pawl 40 will be raised out of contact with the ratchet-wheel; but on any forward motion of the lever it will clear the finger 43 and drop into contact with the ratchet-wheel.

The upper end of the lever 37, as shown, is connected by a pivoted yoke or clevis 46 and a transverse pin 47 to a wire or cable 48, which runs up the track a suitable distance to the operating device 59, which causes the lever 37 to turn at the proper time, and the other lever 38 is likewise connected by a yoke 49 and pin 50 to a wire or cable 51, which runs down the track to a suitable distance the other side of the crossing, where it is likewise connected with a second operating device 60, both of which operating devices will be presently described. The casing 45, which contains the operating mechanism consisting of the pawllevers and ratchet-wheels,is longitudinally ex tended at its upper side, as shown at 52, so as toleave room for the insertion of a pairoflong and strong coil-springs 53 54, which surround the respective cables 48 51, and abut at their ends against the respective end walls 55 and 56 of the casing, and at their other ends against flange-lugs 57, formed on the respective yokes 46 and 49, so that normally these springs will by pressing against their respective levers cause them to be pushed back into the positions shown in the drawings.

In approaching the crossing from the right the train will first be caused to operate the device 59 and so to close the gates, as indicated bythe arrows in Fig. l, and after passing the crossing it will then operate the device 60 and by bringing the other pawl-lever 38 into operation will turn the shaft 30 so as to open the gates again.

In approaching the crossing from the left the same series of actions takes place, except that the gate-bars, which before barred the road, now bar the sidewalk, and vice versa.

It will be understood, of course, that the fingers 43' operate to prevent interference of the pawl of one lever with the corresponding ratchet-wheel during the operation of the other lever.

The device as thus far described is sufficient to operate the gate; but I have provided an additional improvement in the shape of an automatically operated sign 77, which is mounted on a vertical rotatable shaft 78 and extends above the highway, at one side thereof. This shaft carries on its lower end abevelgear 79, which intermeshes with a bevel-gear 80, mounted on a horizontal shaft 81, and this latter has mounted thereon a pair of ratchet-wheels 82 83, with which coact looselymounted pawl-levers 84 S5 of precisely the same form and construction as the ratchetwheels 34 35 and pawl-levers 37 38. From the pawl-levers s4 extend operating cables or wires 86 87, whose free ends are connected to track devices 88 89 and which have mounted thereon retractile springs 91, these parts corresponding, respectively, to the cables 48 51, track devices 59 60, and the springs 53 5%, so as to be operated in precisely the same manner. The mode of operation of this device is that when the train passes, say from right to left, first over the track device 88 it will cause the sign to be turned into a position transverse to the highway, so as to be seen by passers-by, and thus warn persons approaching the track that a train is approaching, and after the train has passed by the crossing and depresses the device 89 the sign will be turned in the opposite direction, so as to stand edgewise or parallel with the highway. I furthermore prefer to locate the device 88 at a sufficient distance ahead of the device 59 so that if the train approaches from the right the sign 77 shall be turned to indicate danger before the gates have been turned, thus preventing the gates from being turned so as to lock in passengers on the highway between the two gates, and similarly the device 89 is farther down the track than the device 60, so that the sign is turned in advance of the gates when the train approaches from the left.

In Fig. 9 I have illustrated the application of my improved crossing-gate to a doubletrack road, in which the down-track is designated by the numeral 11 and the up-track by the numeral 11 In this case the gates 13 and their mountings, the bevel-gears 20, the shafts 21, the intermeshing gears 27 and 29, and the connecting-shafts 28 between the gates on one side of the track are the same as before; but in place of the single operatingshaft 30 I provide, preferably, two operatingshafts 30 and 30", each having gears 31 on each end thereof, and thus providing a double connection between all four pairs of gates, so that the shafts 30 and 30 normally move together. The shaft 30 is provided with oppositely-facing ratchet-wheels 34 and 35 pawllevers 37 and 38, operating-cables 48 and 51, retractile springs 53 and 54 and track devices 59 and 60, all precisely of the same form, structure, and mode of operation as the similarly-named parts heretofore described in connection with Figs. 1 to 8,while the other operating-shaft 30 is likewise provided with a pair of ratchet-wheels 34 and 35 a pair of cooperating pawl-levers 37 and 38, operatingcables 48 and 51, track devices 59 and 60", and retractile springs 53 and 543, all likewise of the same form, structure, and mode of operation as the similarly-named parts heretofore described.

It will be understood that the gate-closing track device 59 is on the opposite side of the crossing from the gate-closing device 59 0n the other track, and so also with the gateopening devices 60 and 60". The gate oper ates equally well, however, from whichever: side the train approaches on either track. In' like manner I may provide the automatic danger-sign 77, similarly mounted on the shaft 78, having the gear 79, as in Fig. 1, and connectingwith the bevel gear 80, which is mounted on a transverse operating-shaft 81, this having two pairs of ratchet-wheels 82 83 and 82 83", operated by similar pawl-levers 84: 85 and 84! 85 cables 86 87 and 86 87 and track devices SS 89 and 88 89", these being so located that the device 88 on the track 11 at the upper side of the crossing and also the devices 88 on the track 11 at the lower side of the crossing shall each cause the sign 77 to be turned into the danger position, as shown in the drawings, while the other devices 89 89 on the respective tracks at the opposite sides of the crossing shall cause the sign to be turned back parallel with the highway, as indicated by the dotted lines. I may also provide a second sign 92, fixed to the shaft 28 at right angles to the sign 77 and marked Crossing safe, or by some other device to indicate that there is a safe crossing for passengers when this sign is turned so as to face up and down the highway.

From the above description it will be evident that my device is an improvement on many existing devices, both in the matter of simplicity, original cost, and fewness of mechanical connections and parts which are liable to become deranged and out of order.

\Vhile I have shown in the accompanying drawings the preferred form of my invention, it will be understood that I do not limit myself to the precise form shown, for many of the details may be changed in form or position without affecting the operativeness or utility of my invention, and I therefore reserve the right to make all such modifications as are included within the scope of the following claims or of mechanical equivalents to the structures set forth.

. Having thus described myinvention, What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a railway-crossing gate, the combination of gate-bars coaxially mounted in parallel vertical planes, a bevel-gear mounted on the hub of each gate-bar, and a horizontal bevel-gear below and between said bevelgears and intermeshing therewith, whereby the rotation of said horizontal gear will cause said gate-bars to be simultaneously raised and lowered.

2. In a railway-crossing gate, the combination of gate-bars coaxially mounted in parallel vertical planes, a bevel-gear mounted on the hub of each gate-bar, a horizontal bevelgear below and between said bevel-gears and intermeshing therewith, whereby the rotation of said horizontal gear will cause said gate-bars to be simultaneously raised and lowered, a vertical shaft on the upper end of which said horizontal bevel-gear is mounted, and means for applying power to the lower end of said shaft.

3. In a railway-crossing gate, the combination of two vertical shafts mounted at the opposite sides of the crossing and having bevelgears on each end thereof, two pairs of gatebars, the members of each pair of which are coaXially mounted and rotatable in parallel vertical planes, bevel-gear segments on the hubs of the respective gate-bars intermeshing with the gears on the upper ends of the vertical shafts, a horizontal shaft extending between the two pairs of gate-bars beneath the surface of the ground, and a pair of bevelgears on the respective ends of said last-mentioned shaft intermeshing with the gears on the lower ends of said vertical shafts, whereby all four gate-bars are caused to be raised and lowered simultaneously.

4. In a railway-crossing gate, the combination of two vertical shafts mounted at the opposite sides of the crossing and having bevelgears on each end thereof, two pairs of gatebars, the members of each pair of which are coaxially mounted and rotatable in parallel vertical planes, bevel-gear segments on the hubs of the respectivegate-bars intermeshing with the gears on the upper ends of the vertical shafts, a horizontal shaft extending between the two pairs of gate-bars beneath the surface of the ground, a pair of bevel-gears on the respective ends of said last-mentioned shaftintermeshing with the gears on the lower ends of said vertical shafts, whereby all four gate-bars are caused to be raised and lowered simultaneously, a duplicate set of gate-bars mounted and connected together like the first set on the opposite side of the railway-track, a shaft connecting the two horizontal shafts at opposite sides of the track, and gears mounted on the opposite ends of said last-mentioned shaft and inter-meshing with the gears carried by said horizontal shafts on opposite sides of the track.

5. In a railway-crossing gate, the combination of two vertical shafts mounted at the opposite sides of the crossing and having bevelgears on each end thereof, two pairs of gatebars, the members of each pair of which are coaxially mounted and rotatable in parallel vertical planes, bevel-gear segments on the hubs of the respective gatebarsintermeshing with the gears on the upper ends of the vertical shafts, a horizontal shaft extending between the two pairs of gate-bars beneath the surface of the ground, a pair of bevel-gears on the respective ends of said last-mentioned shaft intermeshing with the gears on the lower ends of said vertical shafts, whereby all four gate-bars are caused to be raised and lowered simultaneously, a duplicate set of gate-bars mounted and connected together like the first set onthe opposite side of the railway-track, a shaft connecting the two horizontal shafts at opposite sides of the track, gears mounted on the opposite ends of said last-mentioned shaft and intermeshing with the gears carried by said horizontal shafts on opposite sides of the track, a lever operatively connected to said transverse shaft beneath the track, a depressible track device operable by oar-wheels passing thereover, and a connection between said lever and track device, whereby the depression of said device causes all the gates to be opened or closed simultaneously.

6. In a railway-crossing gate, the combination of a series of gate-bars pivoted on hori- 

